No senators said they'd oppose Pritzker's nomination. That had to be a disappointment to members of Unite Here, a labor union that urged senators to vote against Pritzker because of Hyatt's labor practices. The hotel chain was founded by Pritzker's father, and she serves as a director.

"Under her leadership, Hyatt has exhibited a broad pattern of labor abuses, including aggressive outsourcing, low wages and the mistreatment of housekeepers. Together, these practices single Hyatt out as the worst hotel employer in the United States," wrote Unite Here President D.R. Taylorin a letter to Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.

That letter apparently didn't make much of an impression on Rockefeller, who chairs the committee that held a two-hour hearing on Pritzker's nomination. Rockefeller gushed about her "decades of experience in the private sector" and "track record as a civic leader."

The only senator that asked about Hyatt's labor record was Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. But Cantwell's question was so unfocused that Pritzker got away with answering it with platitudes -- it's important for management and labor to work together, she supports workers' rights to organize, and no business succeeds without a good relationship with its employees. Cantwell didn't ask the obvious followup: If you feel that way, then why do unions hate Hyatt so much?

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., took it easy on Pritzker regarding another potentially explosive issue: The $54 million she received last year from an offshore trust account, set up in the Bahamas in order to reduce U.S. tax liability. Last year, President Barack Obama's campaign blasted Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney for "betting against America" by investing in similar accounts. Isn't it hypocritical for Obama to rail against this practice and then nominate Pritzker for his Cabinet?

Thune asked Pritzker this, but tacked that on to a general question about her offshore account.

Pritzker didn't answer the hypocrisy charge -- she just said her offshore trust accounts were set up by her family "when I was a little girl." She doesn't direct or control them, and plans to appoint a U.S. trustee to take them over.

Once again, no followup from Thune.

When will senators learn -- if you want somebody to answer a tough question, ask that by itself. Don't combine it with an easy question.

Thune did ask Pritzker about another blemish in her record -- the 2001 failure of Superior Bank in Hillsdale, Ill. The Pritzker family owned 50 percent of the subprime lender, and Pritzker herself was the bank's chairman until 1994.

Pritzker said she tried to "salvage the situation" when accounting issues arose in 1999 but was unable to save the bank. Her family agreed to pay the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission $450 million in order to help depositors, she said.

"It was the right thing to do," Pritzker said.

That was it as far as the tough issues standing in Pritzker's way. Senators were more interested in getting her thoughts about the array of issues in the Commerce Department's portfolio, including spectrum policy, trade promotion, patents, cybersecurity and the fishing industry.

"The calls you get will be about fish," Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, told Pritzker.

Through it all, Pritzker was poised, engaged and informed on all these issues.

She also assured senators that she will be what many of them hope she will be: an advocate for business inside the Obama administration, someone who will "bring concerns and ideas from the business community to the forefront."

When Obama asked her to serve in his Cabinet, the president expressed his desire for her to "serve as a bridge between the administration and the business community," she said